Above the fold

They did not compare toothpaste brands, but when Gordon Brown met George Bush last night at Camp David, the British prime minister went out of his way to show he was as much of an Atlanticist as his predecessor. Mr Brown declared he was a "great admirer of the American spirit of enterprise” and said the world was indebted to America for its leadership against terrorism. The prime minister avoided mentioning Iraq, while his spokesman played down reports that British troop withdrawal was on the agenda for the talks. Today Mr Brown proposes measures aimed at ending the Darfur conflict.

Italy’s president has announced plans to slash the cost of running his palace, the Palazzo del Quirinale, which currently employs 2000 people and costs €235 million ($320 million) to run—twice as much as the White House. This newfound embarrassment at the sky-high costs of Italian democracy comes as an expose of the Italian political class flies off the shelves. The Caste aims to depict “how a greedy and self-referential political class became a caste and invaded Italian society" and has sold 630,000 copies since mid-May.

The AP reports that an activist in the Russian opposition party led by Garry Kasparov has been forced into a psychiatric clinic. Opposition members said it was revenge for critical reporting and likened it to Soviet practices.

A deputy in France’s centre-right UMP party has attacked the investigation into Dominique de Villepin and offered to give the former prime minister his own parliamentary seat. It would bring Mr de Villepin immunity from prosecution, but looks unlikely to happen.

The European Union could run into trouble with the new reform treaty a Brussels think-tank has warned. The European Policy Centre thinks some countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, might struggle to get parliamentary majorities to ratify the treaty, while others will face pressure to hold referendums.